The Premium Brand and Luxury Consumer - US - December 2014

The Premium Brand and Luxury Consumer - US - December 2014

The internet is the ultimate equalizer, and it has given brands both large and small a chance to communicate directly with consumers; however, the ‘access for all’ mentality of the web does not always work in favor of brands that have an exclusive reputation to manage. Though the adoption of internet-based business tactics has been slow among luxury brands, it appears that the luxury market is catching on, and a few have created effective models that others can emulate.

Table of Content

Scope and Themes

What you need to know

Definition

Data sources

Sales data

Consumer survey data

Consumer qualitative research

Direct marketing creative

Abbreviations and terms

Abbreviations

Terms

Executive Summary

The market

Figure 1: Luxury goods revenue, global and US, 2009-13

Figure 2: US luxury revenue, by category, 2013

Market drivers

Leading companies

Figure 3: Luxury sales by top luxury houses (in USD billions), FY2013

Figure 4: Luxury sales by top luxury houses (in USD billions), FY2013

The consumer

Craftsmanship is the number one defining characteristic of luxury

Figure 5: Top five defining attributes of luxury, by all and luxury goods buyers, September 2014

Majority of luxury buyers only purchase discounted luxury

Figure 6: Luxury purchasing habits, September 2014

Accessible American brands popular among luxury consumers

Figure 7: Premium brands owned and purchased in the last three years, September 2014

Luxury consumers purchase across channels and across countries

Figure 8: Where respondents bought luxury goods in the last 18 months, May 2014